Commercial truck drivers who are not in full control of their vehicles may cause devastating accidents on Tennessee roadways. Drivers who are fatigued from working too many hours — or those who have medical conditions or are affected by prescription medication or drugs — typically have difficulty controlling their vehicles. The Chattanooga Police Department and the state Highway Patrol, in cooperation with the National Transportation Safety Board, are investigating a fatal truck accident that recently occurred on Interstate 75.
The accident was apparently caused by a 39-year-old truck driver. Accident reports note that the traffic on Interstate 75 had slowed down in a construction zone. The truck driver allegedly failed to reduce speed and smashed into a line of slow-moving cars. Four adults and two children lost their lives in this tragic accident.
Allegedly, the trucker was cited for his involvement in an accident in Florida on the day prior to the Chattanooga wreck. In Wisconsin, an outstanding warrant for him is said to involve an incident in which he had gone to a drug store and attempted to fill a fake narcotics prescription. The investigation is ongoing, and THP says it will scrutinize the driver’s medical condition, medical certificate, and medical cards. His logbook will also be examined to obtain the necessary documentation for the hours he worked in the days leading up to the truck accident.
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The sheer weight and size of commercial trucks and the force of the impact in a truck accident typically cause catastrophic injuries or worse. Tennessee victims of such accidents — both those injured and families who lost loved ones — may pursue claims for financial losses by litigating personal injury and/or wrongful death claims in a civil court. The driver, the driver’s employer and the registered owner of the truck may be named as defendants.